A new law allowing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the use of volunteers
and partnerships and simplify donations made to specific national wildlife refuges was
applauded today by Service Director Jamie Rappaport Clark as "a historic step."
President Clinton signed the National Wildlife Refuge System Volunteer and Partnership
Enhancement Act of 1998 October 5.

"This is a very significant piece of legislation for this agency because
volunteers are critically important to our ability to meet our wildlife conservation
mission," Clark said. "It will allow the Service to take giant steps in three
very important areas: in the recruitment and use of volunteers, in the expansion and use
of partnerships, and in simplifying the rules governing financial donations to specific
refuges. We're very excited about all that this bill will make possible and look forward
to putting these new pieces in place."

The law, introduced in the Senate by Senator John Chafee and in the House of
Representatives by Congressman Jim Saxton, will:

o Enable the Service to implement pilot projects through up to 20 volunteer
coordinators who will recruit, train, and supervise volunteers in the Service's 7 Regions.

o Authorize establishment of a Senior Volunteer Corps focusing on volunteers over the
age of 50, paying some incidental volunteer expenses, and allowing the Service to make
cash awards, not to exceed $100 each, to outstanding volunteers.

o Provide authority for organizing and collaborating with partner organizations
nationwide and streamlining the requirements for establishing community partner
organizations such as the Friends of the Refuge Initiative. Partner organizations may
provide financial and technical support and serve as liaisons between a refuge and its
community.

o Clarify that gifts or bequests made to a particular refuge may be spent by the same
refuge, while allowing Federal funding to match (but not exceed) the amount of gifts or
donations. This provision will give individual refuge managers the opportunity to use
discretionary funds already available to help secure additional funds in the form of cash,
property, or in-kind services.

o Require the Secretary of the Interior to develop refuge education programs to further
the mission of the Refuge System and the purposes of individual refuges. The programs are
to provide outdoor classroom opportunities for students on wildlife refuges that combine
educational curricula with the personal experiences of students, to promote understanding
and conservation of resources of the refuges, and to improve scientific literacy in
conjunction with both formal and informal education programs.

The Service's reliance on volunteers dates back to 1903 when the first refuge was
established at Pelican Island in Florida and manned initially by volunteers. The Volunteer
and Partnership Enhancement Act signed today strengthens the Fish and Wildlife Improvement
Act of 1978, through which Congress authorized the Secretary of the Interior to recruit
and train volunteers. Today there are more than 28,800 volunteers donating more than 1.5
million hours of their time on refuges. Almost 20 percent of all work performed on the
refuge system is done by volunteers, amounting to about $14 million worth of services that
cost the government only $780,000.

The Service also collaborates with conservation groups, academic institutions, business
organizations, and other entities to provide services for the refuge system. Those
services span a broad range and are generally performed at the local level, with
individual communities supporting specific refuges in their area. In 1996, the Service
established what it calls the "Friends Initiative" to more formally encourage
and organize efforts to promote community involvement. With the support of the National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Wildlife Refuge Association, and the National
Aububon Society, 25 new Friends groups have been formed by local citizens in support of
nearby refuges.

Nearly 30 million people visit wildlife refuges each year for birdwatching and other
wildlife observation, hiking, fishing, hunting, nature photography, and environmental
education. At least one national wildlife refuge is located within an hour's drive of
almost every major city in the United States.

For more information about the National Wildlife Refuge System, call 1-800-344-WILD, or
visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service homepage at www.fws.gov on the Internet.
Click on "National Wildlife Refuge System" and scroll to the information
category of your choice. Look under "Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service," in the Federal Government section of your telephone directory to
find the wildlife refuge nearest you.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for
conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the
continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre
National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges,
thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66
national fish hatcheries and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces
Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird
populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife
habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts.
It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars
in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state wildlife agencies.